


Dreams Don't Turn To Dust

by goodluckgettingtosleep



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Canon Era, Dreams, Fluff, M/M, Soulmate-identifying dreams
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-07
Updated: 2016-05-07
Packaged: 2018-06-06 20:32:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6768913
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goodluckgettingtosleep/pseuds/goodluckgettingtosleep
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In a world where every person starts dreaming about their soulmate on the day of their 16th birthday, Prince Arthur is expected to be the soulmate of a beautiful princess. But when the big day finally rolls around, it turns out that his true soulmate is as far from a beautiful princess as one could get... a peasant boy with magic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dreams Don't Turn To Dust

**Author's Note:**

  * For [paalme](https://archiveofourown.org/users/paalme/gifts).



> This story is a birthday present for my amazing friend [paalme](http://archiveofourown.org/users/paalme/pseuds/paalme) ♥  
> I've been toying with the idea of a dream soulmate AU for a while, and it seemed to be the right occasion to write it for.  
> The title is taken from the identically named song by Owl City. 
> 
> Huge thanks and lots of hugs to my beta [edenofalltrades](http://archiveofourown.org/users/edenofalltrades/pseuds/edenofalltrades) ♥

Arthur heard many stories about soulmates when he was a young prince. There were stories about knights and maidens, about princes and princesses, and even stories about noble men that were supposed to be with peasant girls, and they defied every rule to be with their loves. However, the latter stories weren’t exactly the ones his father told him. Uther had always taught Arthur that people of higher status should never marry beneath them. He firmly believed that princes were to marry princesses and that the peasants and people of lower status were to marry among each other, and not in circles where they did not belong.

No, those stories of love that defied every obstacle in its way were told to him by his nurse, or by the servants that were hustling around him each hour of each day. Arthur liked those stories best, and he wanted to be like the noble men that didn’t care about their status, or their wealth, but were brave enough to fight for their love.

One night, when Arthur was eight years old, he asked his nurse whom she was dreaming of, and if she had found him already. He knew that every person started dreaming about their soulmate on the day of their 16th birthday, but he didn’t know how long it would take until they met the person they were supposed to be with. His father had known his mother his whole life, and when he’d started dreaming of her when he turned 16, he’d been over the moon. And his whole life, Arthur had wondered who his soulmate would be, and if he already knew her. He wasn’t too excited about the available options, because no princess he’d met seemed pretty or nice enough. They were all pretty, of course, but Arthur had never been fascinated by any of them.

“I’m dreaming about a very handsome young man,” his nurse told him, “He’s a baker, and he lives in the lower town. I have seen it in my dreams, but I haven’t been brave enough to go and meet him yet. I assume he hasn’t been brave enough to come and meet me either…” She sighed and patted Arthur’s head softly.

“Not brave enough?” Arthur asked, confused. How could she not be brave enough to meet her soulmate? “But you have to go and meet him! Don’t you love him?”

“I do, in a way. I don’t know him yet, so I can’t truly love him, but I feel like I will once I get to know him.”  
“So what are you afraid of?”

The nurse shrugged. “Maybe I’m afraid that he won’t like me.”

“I’m sure he will! You’re his soulmate! Besides, I think you’re very nice,” Arthur told her with a smile. She returned it wholeheartedly.

“And you’re a very kind young man. One day, you’ll be a great king.”

It made Arthur happy to hear that.

“Promise me you’ll go and meet your soulmate?” he asked after he’d turned to sleep and Mathilda - that was his nurse’s name - was about to leave his chambers.

“I promise,” she said, and Arthur believed her.

 

In the summer of the same year Mathilda left her position as his nurse to marry her soulmate, and Arthur was so happy for her that he forgot to be mad that she was leaving him.

 

+A+M+

 

Arthur was nervous to go to sleep when the day of his 16th birthday finally came. He was anxious to find out whom he’d see, and if it was someone he could tell his father about, or if he would have to come up with a lie. For quite a while he’d had a feeling that he would probably have to lie to his father about his soulmate when the time came, because not many seemed to fit Uther’s expectations. He would never accept a peasant girl or a servant for Arthur; not as long as he lived anyway.

So when Arthur woke up the next day, he wasn’t terribly surprised that he would have to make up a story about the looks and whereabouts of his soulmate. Because _he_ was as far from a princess as one could get.

 _He_. Yes, Arthur had dreamed of a boy. A dark haired, tall young man with blue eyes and gangly limbs. He seemed dirty, and his clothes cheap; definitely not anyone of higher status. In fact, Arthur was pretty sure that he was a peasant. A _peasant_ , and a _boy._

A pretty one at that, but still someone Uther would never accept as Arthur’s soulmate.

Though a bit surprised, Arthur wasn’t even confused about the fact that he hadn’t dreamed about a girl at all. He’d fancied other men before, and even though he had never acted on it and banished any inappropriate thoughts to the back of his head, they had still been there and Arthur wasn’t stupid enough to deny it and lie to himself in the process. He would have to lie to his father already, and there was no reason why he should lie to himself as well.

In fact, Arthur was excited to go back to sleep that night, just to see more of the handsome boy with the prominent cheekbones and bright blue eyes. He’d seen a rather blurry picture of him that first night, but from then on it became clearer every night, and there were new details, too. One night Arthur saw him sleeping on the floor in a shabby peasant hut, another night he saw him laughing on a field, and yet another night... he saw him do magic. He was conjuring butterflies on a field, and Arthur was fascinated by it. It was beautiful, and when Arthur woke up, he tried so hard to find the evil in what he’d seen, but he couldn’t. The boy’s magic had been pure, and innocent. Yet it had been magic, the thing Arthur had been taught to hate and condemn since birth.

 _Magic_. The boy had magic. _His soulmate_ had magic.

And there was no evil in it, none at all. As much as Arthur tried to agree with his father, he couldn’t, because how could something so beautiful and pure be evil? How could the boy with the bright eyes and happy smile be evil? The boy he was supposed to be with?

 

+A+M+

 

Over the next few years, Arthur saw the boy every night in his dreams. He saw him do magic, or help on a field, or just run through the forest, carefree and happy, like he could conquer the world if he wanted to, but would be just as fine where he was.

Arthur soon felt like he knew him, in a way, even though he didn’t even know his name. He knew what his voice sounded like, his laugh, but he’d never heard him say his name. And he wondered many times, and wished he would have a name to call him in his thoughts, a name for the lad he cared about so much already that it hurt sometimes that he didn’t even know where he lived or when he’d finally meet him.

 

And then, the day came.

 

It was a day like any other, and Arthur had chosen to mock his servant, just because he wasn’t the one person he wanted around, and because he was just not nice sometimes. He tried to be, but sometimes he couldn’t help himself, especially when he was in a bad mood, and today was one of those days.

“Come on, that’s enough,” a strangely familiar voice said, and Arthur turned around, laughing. Some hero trying to defy him was just what he needed.

There he was.

His smile faded a little, and Arthur could’ve sworn he saw the boy flinch ever so slightly. Had he recognized him as well?

“What?” Arthur asked, slightly dumbstruck. He’d waited for this moment for so long, and now his nerves were betraying him. What was he supposed to say? He couldn’t very well drop his facade now, with everyone around him watching, could he? Uther assumed that Arthur’s soulmate was a dark-haired princess he hadn’t met before, and Arthur couldn’t have him find out that he lied now. He knew Uther wouldn’t take well to his son’s soulmate being a peasant boy with magic. In fact, the boy seemed to be everything Uther despised. Knowing his father, he’d probably put the boy on the stake and Arthur couldn’t have that.

The boy cleared his throat.

“You’ve had your fun, my friend.”

 _My friend_. Arthur shook his head. He had to be careful, but at the same time he had to find a way to make the boy stay.

“Do I know you?” he asked. _Stupid_.

The boy smiled at him and damn it, Arthur loved that smile.

He extended his hand to him. “I’m Merlin.”

 _Merlin._ Merlin. _Mer_ lin. His name was Merlin.

Arthur swallowed the lump in his throat. He wanted Merlin to know his name as well, he wanted to hug him and tell him that he’d waited so long to finally meet him, but he couldn’t, and once again Arthur wished he could be someone else, and more ordinary than he was.

“So I don’t know you,” Arthur said, trying to sound just like he usually did when someone decided to speak up to him.

A hurt look crept over Merlin’s face and Arthur cringed. He didn’t want to do this, but he had to protect Merlin.

“No,” Merlin said, sounding slightly defeated.

Arthur bit his tongue and put on his most arrogant smile. “Yet you called me ‘friend’.”

Merlin narrowed his eyes at him, and the defeat on his face was replaced by a defiant smile. “That was my mistake.”

Arthur decided that he liked that side of Merlin that he hadn’t seen in his dreams, and he smiled back, arrogant as ever, deciding that Merlin could take it. In fact, it felt an awful lot more like flirting than anything else.

“Yes, I think so.”

“Yeah… I’d never have a friend who could be such an arse.”

Whoa. Arthur laughed. Merlin was unbelievable, and Arthur started to wonder whether he even knew who he was.

“Or I one who could be so stupid,” Arthur said as Merlin turned to leave. He had to stop him. And in front of everyone else he had to keep up the act. He was the prince and he couldn’t let Merlin talk to him like that in public.

Arthur took a few steps towards him.

“Tell me, _Mer_ lin. Do you know how to walk on your knees?”

He wondered only faintly if that had sounded a tad too much like an innuendo. However, judging by the reactions of the people around, it had done its job.

“Nope.”

“Would you like me to help you?” Arthur knew he was walking on thin ice there, but he couldn’t help himself. Merlin was there, right there, and he’d lost the ability to think straight.

“I wouldn’t if I were you,” Merlin said, still with a defiant smile plastered on his face.

Arthur knew exactly what Merlin could do, but he wasn’t afraid of him. In fact, more than anything he was worried that Merlin would be impulsive enough to use his magic in front of everyone else just to teach him a lesson. One that would land only one of them on the pyre.

“Why? What are you going to do to me?” he asked, playing unsuspecting.

“You have no idea.”  
Yeah, Arthur did. He really, really did, and he begged Merlin silently not to do it.

“Come on, then. Be my guest.” Arthur stepped back and opened his arms, eyes locking on Merlin’s. _Don’t_. “Come on. Come ooooon.”

Arthur was actually relieved when Merlin tried to punch him and kept his magic for himself. He got a grip on him and turned him around, holding him like a prisoner.

He tried not to think about the fact that this was the first time he touched his soulmate.

“I’ll put you in jail for that,” Arthur told him. At least that way he could make sure that Merlin wouldn’t go anywhere Arthur couldn’t find him again.

“Who do you think you are, the King?” Merlin asked.

“No,” Arthur grinned. “I’m his son. _Arthur_.”

Arthur laughed when his eyes widened. He would pay all the gold he had to see the priceless look of disbelief on Merlin’s face just one more time.

 

+A+M+

 

Merlin got free from the dungeons the next morning, much to Arthur’s dismay. However, he knew of course that he couldn’t just keep him locked up forever, and when he found out that he was Gaius’ new apprentice, he couldn’t stop himself from being disgustingly happy for the rest of the day. Merlin would stay in the castle, and thus in Arthur’s reach, and maybe when Arthur would be King one day, he could… He just needed Merlin to stay. Maybe he could even befriend him a little, keep his distance, but not too far, just so he could bear the wasted years.

It was a good plan. But then Merlin had to go and save his life, and Uther made him Arthur’s manservant. No person came closer to the prince than his manservant, and having Merlin that close was exactly what Arthur had been trying to avoid.

 

Over the next few years they grew closer, became best friends even, though Arthur always tried to keep a distance between them by being extra rude and snide or saddling Merlin with extra work that he knew he didn’t like doing. Arthur told himself that he did it to protect Merlin, but the truth was that he was also protecting himself.

Arthur _loved_ Merlin. He’d started caring about him long before he’d met him, and it hadn’t taken long for him to fall in love once they’d met and Merlin had become his manservant. And even though it was supposed to be foretold, to Arthur it still felt like he fell in love with Merlin _because_ he was Merlin. It never felt like he’d been forced to love him, on the contrary even. Despite everything, it had somehow still felt like a choice. Merlin was wonderful in his very own way, and even if Arthur hadn’t started dreaming about him when he’d turned 16, he still felt like he would’ve chosen Merlin, and he still would’ve fallen in love with him. He felt soppy and pathetic for even thinking it, but it was still the truth, and it made Arthur wonder. He wondered if those dreams were never truly foreseeing the future, but giving a suggestion, like a push in the right direction.

And maybe it didn’t even matter. Maybe it was all coincidence.

All that mattered was that Arthur needed to keep Merlin safe, no matter what.

 

Beside everything else, Arthur and Merlin were tiptoeing around each other most of the time. They both knew, and they both knew that the other knew, yet they never addressed it. It was like a silent agreement between them, that they wouldn’t mention it until they could without it being too painful because they couldn’t do anything about it. Sometimes, when Merlin looked at Arthur in a way that made him believe that Merlin loved him too, it was especially hard to keep a safe distance, but all bravery aside, he couldn’t risk it. As long as Uther was alive, there was no _them_. There couldn’t be.

 

But then Morgana turned against them, and she attacked Camelot, and suddenly there was no hiding anymore. Arthur knew they needed Merlin’s magic, and he knew that Merlin knew it, too. Arthur also knew that Merlin had used it many times before to save him, but he’d never acknowledged it. Acknowledging Merlin’s magic meant acknowledging the dreams, and acknowledging the dreams was a risk Arthur couldn’t take as long as his father was alive and could put Merlin on the pyre for being not only a sorcerer, but Arthur’s soulmate as well.

But Uther was halfway gone already, driven mad by Morgana’s betrayal and there was no point in dancing around the truth anymore.

“We need your magic, Merlin,” Arthur said seriously when they had a quiet moment, away from everyone else.

Merlin flinched and his eyes widened.

“My-- my--” He backed away a little and Arthur rolled his eyes.

“Come on, Merlin. Don’t be ridiculous now.”

“You know?!” Merlin asked, clearly shell-shocked.

“I’ve always known.”

Merlin sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

“You saw it, didn’t you? In your--” He made a face. “I mean… uh…”

Arthur gave him a soft, encouraging smile.

“In my dreams? Yes.”

“Oh-- Oh god. And I thought… of course you… uhh… why didn’t you say?” Merlin stammered, hands fumbling with the seam of his shirt.

“Because I was trying to protect you. My father couldn’t know.”

A relieved laugh escaped Merlin’s lips.

“At the beginning, when we met, I thought maybe something went wrong and you didn’t actually see _me…_ But I started to understand when I found out who you were. Of course my soulmate had to be the bloody Prince of Camelot. As if my life wasn’t complicated enough already. Plus, you were a huge arse when I met you.”

Arthur punched Merlin’s arm, but laughed at the memory.

“You’re one to talk! A peasant boy with magic. Hurray! I had a lot of fun making up a story to tell my father, trust me.”

Merlin snorted.

“You’re still an arse.”

“And you’re an idiot, but do you hear me complaining?”

“Literally every day.”

Arthur narrowed his eyes at Merlin, and there were only two things he wanted to do: punch him, or kiss him. One was easy, the other seemed like the most terrifying thing in the world. He laughed, and his eyes wandered to Merlin’s lips. He was so close, and he’d spent so many years wondering…

Deciding that he didn’t want to wonder anymore, Arthur reached out and grabbed Merlin by his neckerchief, pulling him close until their lips touched. He let out a nervous laugh and then he kissed Merlin properly, one hand holding on to the neckerchief, the other coming up to the back of Merlin’s head.

Merlin moaned softly and wrapped his arms around Arthur’s waist, holding on like Arthur would just slip away again and fade like a dream if he didn’t.

There he was, finally kissing the peasant boy that had been in his life since his 16th birthday, and it was all kinds of wonderful. Kissing Merlin felt right, and _easy_ , like they’d never done anything else.

Arthur smiled when he pulled away again, but still kept Merlin close.

“That was surprisingly… _great_ ,” he said teasingly.

“You’re surprised? _Really_?”

“Yeah, well… you’re still you. I couldn’t know for sure that you don’t kiss like you do your duties.”

“Oi!”

Arthur grinned, shrugged and let go of Merlin entirely. He felt the loss immediately, but decided to ignore it and get back to the task at hand, which was still defeating Morgana.

“Anyway. Now that that’s settled… We should probably come up with a plan to get our kingdom back.”

Merlin stared at him and bit his beautifully swollen lower lip.

“ _Our_ kingdom?”

“Well, you do live in it, don’t you?”

“Yeah, but--”

“And maybe I’ll share it with you one day,” Arthur said quietly, and so fast that it was barely audible at all. Merlin’s eyes widened.

“Wait, what? Are you saying that…”

He definitely was, but it was not yet the time to admit that. So Arthur just rolled his eyes and turned to walk away. They had to discuss matters with the others as well after all.

“Don’t be stupid, Merlin.”

 

+A+M+

 

Neither of them mentioned the kiss again until Uther was dead and Arthur was officially King of Camelot. He decided to celebrate by pushing Merlin against the door of his chambers and kissing him senseless, before dragging him into bed with him and kissing every other part of his body, every inch of skin and every hidden sensitive spot.

He spent the most time on Merlin’s most sensitive parts, and hearing him moan his name made his heart jump in his chest.

When they were both done and spent, panting heavily as they were lying next to each other, Arthur grabbed Merlin’s hand and held on tight, enjoying the feeling of being exactly where he belonged.

“That was… _intense_ ,” Merlin said and suddenly the air around them seemed to change, painting everything in a different light. They were still them, Arthur and Merlin, and that would never change.

“Yeah… Well, good to know that there’s at least _one_ thing you’re not terrible at.”

Merlin snorted.

“You’re such an arse.”

“Which is why you could never be friends with me, right?”

“Right.”

“Huh. Well, that’s unfortunate, because I happen to quite like you.”

Merlin turned to look at him, a teasing smile gracing his lips.

“Wow. Arthur Pendragon admits that he _likes_ me. Is this a dream?”

Arthur grimaced and leaned over to plant kisses along Merlin’s jaw line.

“Don’t get too excited, I still think you’re an idiot, and why _you_ of all people are supposed to be my soulmate is beyond me.”

“You think _I_ wanted to be with a royal pain in the ass?” Merlin asked, conveniently placing his hands on Arthur’s naked backside.

“Hmm…” Arthur hummed between kisses. “I think you really, really wanted to be.”

“Did not.”

“Did too.”

“Shut up. It’s not like I had a choice.”

Arthur pulled back a little to be able to look at Merlin.

“Yeah, you did. I once thought I didn’t either, but… Some stupid dreams don’t force you to be with a person you don’t like. You can still walk away. Destiny is what you make of it.”

Merlin tilted his head, a look of utter disbelief gracing his features.

“Wow. Where did that come from? That’s actually pretty wise.”

“I _am_ wise.”

Merlin snorted.

“If you say so.”

“Either way, you know I’m right.”

Merlin reached out to touch Arthur’s face with his fingertips, his eyes softening and filling with all the love he felt for him.

“Yeah. Yeah, I do.”

 

+A+M+

 

Magic returned to Camelot only a few years after Arthur’s coronation. It was the dawn of a golden age, Arthur could practically feel it in his very bones. Well, that, and the dragon had told them.

“I’m proud of you, Arthur,” Merlin told him one evening, when they were standing on the battlement together, overlooking the whole town, “Despite everything your father taught you… and everything that was thrown in your way, you’re still here, and Camelot is flourishing, more than ever before.”

“And that is thanks to you just as much as me.”

“But you _chose_ to accept my magic, so many years ago, before we even met. You didn’t have to, but… you did. And when I came to Camelot, you chose to protect me, even though it meant betraying your father. You chose _me_. And I am grateful for that.”

Arthur shrugged.

“It was the right thing to do.”

Merlin shook his head. “Arthur--”

“But I was also… halfway in love with you already. I still think it was the butterfly, to be honest. You conjured that butterfly on a field, you _created_ life… it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.”

Merlin smiled and reached out to grab Arthur’s hand and intertwine their hands.

“I just thought you were an ass. Even in my dreams you were an arse most of the time. Not all of the time, but… too often. After my 16th birthday I complained about you to my mother for a whole week. I honestly couldn’t believe that my soulmate was supposed to be a posh arsehole. That didn’t change when I met you. But then… then I got to know you, and I realized that I was wrong. You’re actually pretty great if you don’t try to be.”

Arthur laughed and shook his head.

“Believe it or not, but your insolence made it even worse for me. I was not used to people treating me just like everyone else. It was a welcome change.”

Merlin smiled happily at him and let go of Arthur’s hand. Then he brought both hands up to his face and whispered a few words, before he released a blue butterfly into the darkening sky.

Arthur watched it in awe for a while, before he turned back to Merlin.

“I love you,” he said genuinely, “Because I want to.”

Merlin smiled and leaned in to brush his lips against Arthur’s in a soft kiss.

“I love you, too, you ass. Because I want to.”

Arthur wrapped his arms around Merlin to keep him close and never let him go again.

He’d spent years trying to protect Merlin by keeping his distance, and he’d been right. Had Uther ever found out _anything_ … well, Arthur didn’t even want to think about it. But they were safe now, and they had the rest of their lives ahead of them, together, like they were meant to be, but also like they chose to be.

 

-FIN-

 


End file.
